Read More

But he is our ‘little so and so’ and I very much mean it as a compliment, rather than a criticism.

And he is exactly the kind of character you want in your side in games like this.

Forest's Welsh star David Vaughan (Image: PA)

He will get in people’s faces, he will work hard and he will generally just wind people up, in the right way. He’s a little terrier and never stops running.

I hate watching Derby games – because it is awful not being able to influence things; to be able to play your part on the pitch.

You are sat in the stands feeling helpless. You can see a Derby player having a positive impact on the game and all that goes through my mind is ‘somebody sort him out’. You want to get out there on the pitch and give him a reminder; to stop him in his tracks for a few seconds.

Read More

Full-backs Craig Forsyth and Andre Wisdom are not exactly slouches in comparison to the central defensive pairing, but they are also there to be got at, if Forest do attack them with pace.

Which is why the Reds should also find a way to get Barrie McKay and Jason Cummings into the team, in and around Daryl Murphy.

Cummings is not too dissimilar to Ward, in some aspects of his game. He’s not as aggressive, perhaps. But he is not the kind of forward you would enjoy playing against, because he likes to run at opposition defences with pace and directness.

Barrie McKay

The same is certainly true of McKay, who has been a real handful since he signed from Rangers.

The challenge for Warburton is to get those three in the side and give them the freedom to run at Derby; to test their defences at the back – while also ordering them to close down and make it difficult for Derby when they are in possession.

Forest do need to give their defence more protection – and the defenders have to cut out the individual mistakes. But I genuinely believe that this starts high up the pitch. Conceding goals is not just down to the defence.

Players like Ward, Cummings and McKay will add plenty of attacking threat – but they are also capable of taking some of the pressure off the defence at the same time.